A right and wrong way to do business

Wednesday

Jul 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 3, 2013 at 1:33 PM

Political shenanigans are legend in the North Carolina General Assembly, where late-night maneuvering, questionable holiday scheduling or hastily called special sessions when some lawmakers are on vacation have been a plague embraced by whatever party was in charge of things.

That’s how we wound up with the North Carolina Education Lottery, remember?

Indeed, in what might be categorized as an oldie written by the Democrats who were then running the show in Raleigh, state lawmakers were hastily called back for a special session to vote on the proposed lottery while a couple of members who were vocal opponents were far out of town. One was even on his honeymoon. Presto! For good, bad or indifferent, North Carolina got itself a lottery.

The Republicans, who are now leading both the state House and Senate, haven’t been immune from attraction to such nefarious political activities. House Speaker Thom Tillis famously had a “veto garage” where he parked items opposed by then-Gov. Bev Perdue until such a time when enough Democrats might be out of town for a quick override vote. It’s a tactic he tried in 2012 to override Perdue’s veto of the Racial Justice Act — a law sadly scuttled during this past session. At that time, though, the GOP didn’t have enough votes for an override when all came back to town for the special session held just after New Year’s Day. Following a series of secret meetings, though, the GOP did decide to meet at midnight to vote on a measure concerning teachers and dues to the North Carolina Association of Educators.

So what happened on Tuesday night in Raleigh should’ve been no real shock to anyone who closely follows politics in this state. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating. It also doesn’t make it right. In fact, it’s why people have so little faith in politics or those who practice it.

Tuesday after 5:30 p.m., state Senate Republicans — without notice to anyone but their most ardent supporters — tacked a measure concerning the contentious issue of abortion onto a bill concerning Sharia law. According to the News and Observer of Raleigh, a committee meeting turned into a vote to waive Senate rules allowing an immediate floor vote on the new abortion restrictions. Lobbyists supporting the measure were in attendance. Lobbyists opposed were never told it would be discussed. It was then quickly approved by a preliminary 27-14 vote.

The merits of the bill, which would force new licensing requirements on abortion clinics and make it more difficult for doctors to perform the procedures, are truly a matter for real debate among pro-life and pro-choice forces. It’s a historically contentious issue that has divided the nation for decades. Women have a stake in the discussion, as does the religious community. For his part, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory said during his campaign that he would not sign laws that further restrict abortions in this state.

That’s an indicator of how split even Republicans are about it.

Our concern is over how a bill this important would suddenly be posed before the Senate on a week when many are on July 4 holiday and without public notice of any kind. The people of North Carolina deserve true give and take over matters of such significance — not treachery and the kind of political steamrolling common in Third World countries.

Wednesday, in a gallery packed with those on both sides of the issue, the Senate, which has 50 members, gave final approval in a 29-12 vote. The bill will now go before the state House, which has already OK’d some of the measures earlier in the session. After that, it will go to McCrory. He could opt not to sign it, and let the bill become law and still meet his campaign obligation.

But not really.

McCrory, who criticized how this bill came about on Wednesday, should send it back to the General Assembly for more open discussion.